The carmaker intended to keep its combustion engine models competitive for as long as they are on the market but was shifting to being a technology and mobility company, Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz added.

Blume also said the carmaker was finalising a high-performance software for luxury and premium brands, which would be brought into a software architecture for the whole company in the medium term.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; editing by Matthias Williams)